1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of installation and mounting of plumbing fixtures, more particularly to the installation of toilet bowls, toilets having a bowl and tank, commodes or water closets, referred to herein as “toilets” or “toilet assemblies.”
2. Description of Related Art
Installations of a toilet assembly (a toilet including a bowl portion and a tank portion) according to a typical prior art method includes positioning mounting bolts (generally T-bolts) through slots in a closet flange that is designed to be aligned and spaced with respect to the wall behind the toilet to be installed. The bolts fit into slots in the closet flange so that the head of the bolt is on the floor and the stem of the bolt is positioned upright. The bowl portion of the toilet, or an entire toilet system in the case of a one-piece toilet, is then lowered so that installation bolt holes pre-formed in the base of the bowl portion of the toilet are aligned with the flange T-bolts with the purpose of slipping the bolts through the mounting bolt holes typically preformed in the toilet base.
Generally, a single person (or perhaps two people in the event of a homeowner installation) holds the toilet bowl portion or a complete one-piece toilet having a bowl portion over the bolts and lowers the toilet bowl, which is a problem if the bolts move as the bowl and/or toilet is quite heavy. This causes repositioning and sometimes the need to straighten or realign the bolts. It also typically causes the person(s) installing the bowl and/or one-piece toilet to hold the toilet suspended (hovering) over the bolts while manipulating the position of the bowl so that the T-bolts can slide into the mounting holes. In some cases, one person may be positioning the T-bolts while the other person(s) are suspending the bowl. These method(s) of installation present opportunities for injury either to hands and fingers of a person steadying the T-bolts and/or to the back, shoulders or other musculoskeletal areas of the person who is forced to suspend the toilet over the T-bolts while positioning the mounting holes over the bolts (particularly where the bolts move).
After the bowl (having been prepared with a wax seal) is finally seated on the floor so that the bolts extend upright properly through the mounting bolt holes. The bolts are tightened in place on the bowl base by using a wrench or pliers on the bolt after hand-tightening a multi-component assembly generally including a bolt cap base piece/gasket, a washer, and a nut. The bolts are then cut to size, generally using bolt cutters and/or a hack saw. This is because the closet flange, which is typically already placed on the floor prior to installation of a new toilet bowl, may be located above or below floor level, to make up for the uncertainty regarding where the flange will sit. Thus, most toilet bolts are made to be sufficiently long to allow for various installation placements of the flange. In addition, longer flange bolts are typically also used because it is easier to place the bowl by guiding the bolts through the mounting holes if the bolts are longer and can accommodate some movement of the bowl during installation. Thus, flange bolts offered for installation presently are of a standard size that is expected to work for various types of installations and placements of the closet flange on the mounting surface. The thought being that if they are longer than needed, they may be cut to size, but if they are too short, they may make installation difficult or impossible. After the bolts are cut to size, the installer places a cap over the bolts. Sometimes the cap does not fit well over the bolt, requiring further bolt cutting, tightening and adjustment.
In the case of a two-piece toilet assembly, after the bowl portion is in place, the tank is positioned over the pre-drilled holes in the rear of the top surface of the bowl portion. The tank has a rubber gasket pre-positioned over the spud extending downward through a lower portion of the tank, and has bolts installed thereon that also extend downwardly from the tank. Such bolts typically fit loosely through the holes in the bottom of the tank while the rubber gasket holds the tank somewhat in place until further mounting is completed. The downward extending ends of the tank bolts are lowered through the tank mounting bolt holes in the bowl portion, and the rubber gasket is aligned to fit in the spud hole in the bowl as well which forms a primary waterway from the tank to the bowl. The holes in the tank are formed by molding and/or are pre-cut before firing in the same manner as the mounting holes in the bottom of the toilet bowl. A multiple component assembly is used with a wrench to tighten the tank bolts after they pass through the bottom of the holes formed at the rear of the upper surface of the toilet bowl. The assembly includes a washer, a nut and sometimes a gasket that together secure the end of the tank bolt head to connect the rear portion of the bowl of the toilet assembly to the tank. The tank is checked to see if it is level and additional wrench adjustment may be necessary until the tank is level.
While professional installers such as plumbers would typically have all the correct tools needed for installation, and are experienced in terms of how to handle a toilet bowl while positioning the bowl, problems arise for homeowners and other non-professional installers that may not have the correct tools and instead use improper tools and/or have difficulty installing without the proper tools. In a typical installation method, there are difficulties in that the closet flange bolts tend to move. Tools such as wrenches, pliers, bolt cutters and saws are necessary and typically have to be used in very small, tight areas with little room for manipulation. Even for a professional who has the correct tools, the process can be time-consuming and the small areas available for installation challenging. In all cases, there is also the opportunity for user injury from lifting the toilet bowl and holding it for too long a period of time, to hands, fingers or other body parts of those involved with the installation while positioning the bowl as well as injuries from close-quarters installation or improper use of tools.
The toilet bowl is heavy so that if the closet bolts move, the person holding the bowl portion has to lift the toilet bowl more than once and/or suspend the bowl over the bolts while someone adjusts them and/or realign the bolts while positioning the bowl so that they stand up straight through the holes. It is possible that people, typically non-professionals, can be injured during the installation while holding and/or positioning the bolts in the mounting holes. Similarly, when non-professionals are installing the bowl, the bowl may be dropped or accidentally placed on the installer's fingers while positioning the bolts. Back-lifting injuries are more likely the more the installer has to hold the tank up while positioning or repositioning the bowl. Use of tools such as wrenches, saws, pliers and bolt cutters in small areas, particularly improper tools, can also increase the risk of installer injury particularly when used by non-professionals.
The typical installation method set forth above is a difficult and a time-consuming process which often requires a professional plumber, since it is difficult for many homeowners to do themselves. Even if a professional plumber handles the installation, it can take considerable time, generally over a half hour for an experienced professional and sometimes longer depending on the difficulties encountered in the installation.
Attempts in the art have been made to improve one or more aspects of the process. For example, U.S. Publication No. 2007/0186336 A1 teaches providing a closet flange with closet bolts permanently fixed to a closet flange such as by molding or some other process and screw-on caps that fit the closet bolts to avoid use of a multi-component assembly on the toilet base.
Bolt retainers to try to keep the closet mounting bolts in place while positioning the toilet are also known. See for example, U.S. Publication No. 2004/0016046A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,479.
While some improvements have been attempted, bolt cutting, difficult tool use in installation, the requirement for specialized tools and expertise and long installation times still exist. There is a need in the art to improve the overall process of toilet installation to make it easier for homeowners and non-professionals to do, to minimize the risk of injury in installation and the failure to successfully install the bowl, as well as to reduce the overall time involved in toilet installation.